THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

DCCW women’s retreat uses JPII’s letter as guide

By Rosemary Bernth
Globe staff reporter
(Email Rosemary)

Women of the Diocese of Sioux City had the opportunity to learn about their vocation as women during a retreat earlier this month.

The Diocese Council of Catholic Women sponsored the weekend retreat Aug. 6-8 at the Corpus Christi worship site in Fort Dodge.

The retreat, “Embracing Our Call: Dignity & Vocation of Women,” focused on the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II Mulieris Dignitatem. This was done with the help of Gina Bauer, the guest speaker who also presented at last year’s retreat.

“He wrote it in 1988 and I read this document shortly afterwards,” said Bauer. “It filled me with such joy because I couldn’t believe anybody had ever written about the dignity and vocation of women so well.”

Bauer said she saw the letter as an answer for women as to how they can serve the church and show their love of Christ.

“I thought rather than focusing on what we can’t do, maybe we should be focusing on who we are and what we should do,” she said. “That’s when I started speaking on this topic.”

Bauer, who has been working in ministry for over 20 years, used her personal experiences to relate to each of the sections discussed during the sessions – from praying outside Planned Parenthood with her youth group to confronting total strangers in a restaurant upon hearing their plan to go to a strip club. She said when she goes into stores, she turns around the Cosmopolitans and other similar magazines.

“I find it very discriminating against our younger women the way they’re advertising,” said Bauer. “The media makes our girls look like prostitutes and teaches them to prostitute themselves before they even know who they are or what their dignity is. Jesus saves them from that and says ‘I love you the way you are and I have a plan for you.’ The church becomes a home and a place for love and they are able to be nurtured and cared for by their family, the church.”

Mulieris Dignitatem covers topics such as Eve, the women witnesses to the Resurrection, motherhood and virginity together in Mary and Jesus’ talk with the woman caught in adultery, which Pope John Paul II called “the most eloquent.”

“The pope wants us to know that these episodes provide a clear picture that Christ is the one who knows what is in the hearts of man and woman,” said Bauer. “Because in the truth of who Jesus is, we get to see the truth of who we are.”

The document states, “The dignity and the vocation of women – as well as those of men - find their eternal source in the heart of God.”

“God willed you for your own sake,” said Bauer. “He loves you and created you to belong to him. That is where we find our dignity. It’s simply in that ‘God loves me.’ When you have a really good day, you just accept the joy of having a good day. But when you screw up, you don’t have to be crushed to the bottom because he loves you. It doesn’t matter how beautiful you are, or how great you are, or how fast you are, or any of these messages that the world tries to say you are a good woman.”

Other activities during the weekend retreat included social time, reconciliation, praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, watching “The 13th Day” - a movie about the appearance of Mary at Fatima - and Mass with Bishop R. Walker Nickless on Sunday. There were also information tables set up for different conferences and organizations such as DCCW and 40 Days for Life.

Michele Leiting, a parishioner of St. John Church in Arcadia and past president of DCCW, said the weekend was wonderful.

“I think the women here were enriched and blessed,” she said. “About half the women here were first-time attendees. So that means they’re going to go home and speak to others about our conference. I’m hoping they will bring more so we do learn the glory of God and what he can do for us.”

Leiting said that Bauer was a good example of faith and love for the women.

“She has enriched us so much with her faithfulness, her knowledge, her love,” she said. “It’s so obvious that she loves and we have to learn from her to be totally giving of our love and not look back, to keep going forward with faith, love and truth.”

Bishop Nickless said he was very pleased with the direction that DCCW has taken in leadership.

“As members of DCCW, you give me a great example of faith as your bishop,” he said during his homily. “Thank you for doing so much for so many in our diocese, but most especially for your willingness to grow in holiness and faith. May you continue to strengthen in that faith and live in hope and love every day of your life.”

Recordings of Gina Bauer’s talk at the retreat are available on CDs. For more information, contact Julie Storr at storr@ncn.net or (712) 335-4393 or Ellen Streit at (515) 887-4058.